Amazing Spider-Man writer James Vanderbilt to reboot The Nutty Professor

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Come on Cletus! Come on! Whoops! Sorry, wrong version.

Hold onto your pocket protectors and repressed biological urges because, after Project X Entertainment’s James Vanderbilt, William Sherak and Paul Neinstein are finished rebooting the Scream franchise, they're setting their sites on THE NUTTY PROFESSOR.

Nowadays, when people mention THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, chances are folks will assume you're talking about Eddie Murphy's 1996 reboot. However, Project X's version will take its inspiration from Jerry Lewis' classic comedy, released in 1963 and co-starring Stella Stevens as the lovely Ms. Stella Purdy. In the original film, Lewis' Prof. Julius Kelp invents a potion to help improve his social life. You see, every time he drinks the elixir, he's transformed into Buddy Love, the handsome and obnoxious polar opposite of Kelp's nerdy norm. Ye be warned, my friends. Vanity always has a cost, and Kelp will be expected to pay up if he wants to remain as Buddy Love for the rest of his days.

For Murphy's 1996 version of the mad professor setup, Eddie played not just the lead character but also his affection-starved alter-ego as well as five other family members. Beloved by many, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR is hailed as one of Murphy's best, right alongside TRADING PLACES, COMING TO AMERICA, and BEVERLY HILLS COP.

For the moment, no studio is attached to Project X's Nutty Professor project. What this means is that the talent involved will have plenty of time to fine-tune their proposal before shopping it out to potential backers. As per Deadline's report, Vanderbilt is only producing and has yet to fill any other role on the production side.

If you were in charge of this reboot, who would you cast as the Nutty Professor and his delightful love interest, Ms. Purdy? Let us hear your ideas in the comments section down below.